Thinking about your taxes well ahead of time may be the furthest thought from your mind, but rest assured that it’s one of the best ways of reducing the risk of a major tax headache, and helps to avoid mistakes being made due to last minute panic.
Here are 4 ways to help you focus on your taxes now, to help you avoid a headache for the next tax year:
- Sit down and look back over the financial year:
Taking the time to review the year can help you to determine what worked, and what didn’t, but you’ll need to look in detail at every aspect, from suppliers, to hours worked to the number of employees you’ve taken on.
Did you go over any of your budgets, and if so, why? Did your team of employees grow but your productivity didn’t? Many things might show up in this kind of review, and hiring the services of a tax preparation and planning firm will help you to further analyse your findings and help you to find solutions.
- Think about things that happened, which you don’t want to happen next year:
Try to wear a CPA’s hat while you think about this, and take a good look at all your processes. Are any of them outdated and inefficient? Do you still work on paper instead of using an online system, or perhaps you still issue paper checks?
If you want to increase the efficiency and productivity of your business then you’ll need to think carefully about the year just gone, and the year ahead, and try to come up with some positive solutions and changes.
- Take a good look at your administrative processes:
Taking advantage of the latest technology can help to streamline your administrative processes and make your business more efficient, too. Automated systems are great for reducing risks and there are few businesses who regret using such technology.
- Review your payroll system:
If your payroll isn’t automated, and doesn’t do the following, then it may be time to upgrade:
- Synchronizes with your accounting software
- Makes tax payments automated
- Tracks employees time sheets
If your system doesn’t do the above, then you could run the risk of not paying your payroll liability; some businesses don’t pay their payroll taxes, and this can get you in deep water with the IRS.
So, there you have it, 4 simple ways in which you can do your best to avoid a headache come tax time next year. Of course, if the thought of finding the time to sit down and review your businesses performance and systems is already giving you a headache, why not engage with a tax planning firm who will take the stress out of taxes, for you? They’ll be able to review your business and help you find solutions for the problems or the aspects of your business that aren’t quite running as efficiently as you’d like them to